Picture of the Week: Leuthen Churchyard

Click on pictures to enlarge.

Here is a picture of one of my favorite pieces of war gaming terrain in my collection. It is a model of the Leuthen Church in the Winter. Herb Gundt made the church and buildings, complete with snow on the roofs, as well as all of the roads and trees that you see in the picture.

The picture was snapped at the Seven Years War Association Convention, circa 2007.

The buildings were designed with lift off roofs to allow for skirmish gaming. As a matter of fact, my thought when I commissioned this terrain was to run a skirmish level attack of the Prussian Guards on the churchyard, defended by the Rot Wurzburg regiment.  

Here is another view of the church and the surrounding buildings in winter mufti:

In the above picture you can see some of the firing steps that Herb made so that figures could stand at the walls and be able to look over the top. Most of the Austrian figures are from Crusader Miniatures while the Prussians are a mix of Stadden, Suren, Elite Miniatures, and Crusader Miniatures.

Battle of Leuthen December 5, 1757

 

Battle of Leuthen in flats. 
Bavarian Army Museum

Today is the anniversary of Frederick the Great's greatest tactical battle, the Battle of Leuthen, fought on December 5, 1757.

I refer you to the excellent article on the battle found on the Obscure Battles web site.

Leuthen - Obscure Battles

Here are some pictures of past war game battles of Leuthen that I have organized.  The buildings and trees were all made by Herb Gundt and the table mat was made by The Terrain Guy. Sadly, both sources have retired and are no longer in the business of making war gaming terrain.

One of my Leuthen games on my home pitch, using Minden Miniatures.

Leuthen fought at General Pettygree's barracks on his huge 6ft by 30ft tables.

Leuthen village and its iconic church, defended by the Rot Wurzburg regiment.
This game was played with the B.A.R rules using a 1:10 figure ratio.

I have probably gamed Leuthen nearly ten times so I am not going to stage a refight of the battle today. The Austrians usually lose because it is too difficult a task to recover from the initial flank attack of the Prussians. The couple of times that the Austrians have won, they mounted a stout defense in the town of Leuthen, centered around the famous walled church.

I hope that you enjoy this little trip back in time.

Leuthen Day Wargame

 

Prussian Itzenplitz regiment (IR 13) on the March to Leuthen.

Today is the anniversary of the battle of Leuthen, fought on December 5, 1757. Leuthen was Frederick the Great’s signature battle in which his army of 33,000 men utterly defeated the larger Austrian army(65,000 men) commanded by Prince Charles of Lorraine.

Austrian battle line swings to the left to face the Prussian threat.

I have wargamed Leuthen a number of times and I thought that I would share some pictures of the battle that I played as a solo game circa 2016. The game had a central table measuring 6ft by 15ft plus a back table of 3 x 15ft on each side to provide depth for reserves. The Prussians prevailed up to the point where they were getting ready to attack the Leuthen churchyard, and then I stopped the game. Yet the Austrians made a tough fight of it, especially in the grand cavalry melee at Sagschutz between Zieten’s Prussian advance guard and Nadasdy’s Austrian cavalry of the left wing. Had the Austrians won the cavalry action they might have stopped the rest of the Prussian attack.

Here are some of the pictures of the game:

Prussian Advance Guard Cavalry of the Right Wing.

General von Zieten commands the advance guard

The Austrian left flank rests on the village of Sagschutz. Austrian cavalry regiments of Nadasdy’s cavalry deploy as a refused flank formation.

Austrian artillery support the Hungarian brigade deployed between Sagschutz and Leuthen.

One of the Austrian infantry brigades deployed between Sagschutz and Leuthen.

Nadasdy’s Austrian cavalry move forward to attack Zieten’s advance guard Prussian cavalry.

The Cavalry Melee Begins.

Some unfortunate Croats get run down by Prussian Hussars.

The cavalry melee grows bigger.

Prussian Brummer battery moves forward to support the attack.

Prussian advance guard attack Sagschutz, held by Wurttemburg infantry.

Prussian Guards brigade advances in the second line.

Sagschutz falls to the Prussians.

Austrian reinforcements deploy from column to line.

Austrian reserves deploying around Leuthen.

More Austrian regiments around Leuthen.

I would post more pictures but the new Blogger format makes it difficult to do so. I’m exhausted from all of this cutting and pasting, etc. I think that I’ve posted enough pictures for to get the general idea.

Leuthen Church

 

The gateway to the Leuthen churchyard.

December 5th is the anniversary of the Battle of Leuthen, fought in 1757. Leuthen was Frederick the Great's signature battle during which he employed the Oblique Order tactics to perfection. I thought that I would post some pictures that I took of the Leuthen church in 2016. This tour was led by Christopher Duffy. I think that most blog readers will know who his is.

The front gate and the church spire in the background. The building at the right is a recent addition and was not there in 1757.

Inside the churchyard and rear view of the gate way.
The people give us an idea of how high the courtyard walls are.

One of the round corner turrets of the church yard.

A couple of notable tourists. Can you identify them?

A view of the Protestant church seen from the Catholic
(the famous church building) church in Leuthen.

The front facade of the Leuthen church.

The Prussian attack came from the direction of the camera and towards the two church spires on the horizon . The spire on the right is the famous Catholic Leuthen church while the spire on the left is the more recent Protestant church, which was not there at the time of the battle.

Battle of Leuthen Day

Entrance to the Leuthen churchyard, defended by the Rot Wurzburg regiment

December 5th is the anniversary day of Frederick the Great's victory in the Battle of Leuthen, fought December 5, 1757. Leuthen was Frederick's signature battle, featuring the employment of the Prussian oblique order tactics, and is probably what established Frederick as one of the great captain-generals in history.

I have posted some of the pictures of the Leuthen church that I took in October 2016 when I visited the site during Christopher Duffy's guided tour.

You can see the relative height of the church walls by comparing it to the people.
That is Christopher Duffy in the center-right of the picture.

The signature round corner walls of the Leuthen church

Another view of the corner round walls

A street view of the village of Leuthen shows that it is relatively unchanged from how it would have appeared in the 18th Century (save for the asphalt road pavement and the power lines in the distance)

Relatively flat terrain around Leuthen made for easy maneuvering during the battle.

And now, some pictures of my wargame of Leuthen fought on December 5, 2016, featuring the Prussian attack on the left flank of the Reichs Army troops.

Prussian Guards brigade (left) rolling over the Wurtemburg troops.

Austrian artillery battery is about to be charged in the flank by the Prussian Black Hussars.

Prussian 12-pound Brummers advance and deploy on the Juden-berg
to provide close artillery support for the Prussian attack.

Action on the Austrian left flank. The Prussians have cleared the Reichs Army troops from Sagschutz and prepare to strike Austrian infantry in the flank.

Huge cavalry scrum near Sagschutz on the Austrian left flank.

Austrian infantry wheels left and forms a new battle line that faces the Prussian attack around Sagschutz

Austrians and Prussians engage in a firefight.

An overview of the battle of Leuthen on the Austrian left flank.

Every so often I recreate the Battle of Leuthen on the tabletop, and while I did not do so this year, my photo archive is well stocked with photos of Leuthen games.